Catalyst 5: Venom
by Unstable Firestarter
Summary: Just when there's peace, it all goes wrong. There's problems with Faye, trouble brewing with Cloud again, and old enemies who don't know the meaning of 'die'. All are determined to wreck havoc in the lives of Sophronica and the Remnants, but to what end? Yazoo/OC
1. Black Clouds on the Horizon

**Disclaimer:** We all know that I do not own Final Fantasy or anything relating to it, the only thing I take credit for is twisted plot lines and Sophronica.

**A/N:** Thank you for all reviews on Catalyst 4 and the rest of the series =) Here's the fifth! Sadly, there's no slow lead-in, it just kinda…starts with a bang x3 And I promise! –Cough- It WILL have a happy ending…eventually. Without further ado, here we go!

* * *

**Chapter One – "Black Clouds On the Horizon"**

_2 years after the end of Catalyst 4_

She stirred slightly in her sleep, thoughts and memories drifting through her dreams. So much had happened in the last few years, Shin-Ra, Chimera, Deepground, but finally, _finally_, they seemed to have found peace. Two years of bliss, no one bothering them, the rest of the world seeming to forget they exist-which was just fine with them, after all that they'd been through. The only things they'd had to worry about was Faye aging from an eight-year-old to a sixteen-year-old in two years, and acting very much like a teenage Kadaj, well, like Kadaj _still_ acted-hot headed, arrogant, prideful, and sometimes standoffish.

They didn't know exactly why she acted like this now-she'd been so sweet as a younger child, but it was probably just as he'd said many times; she's a teenager, and they go through phases. The rapid aging worried her too. She knew that it was probably because of Faye's unnatural birth from the Lifestream, but she didn't know when it would stop and slow to normal-or if it would.

The worries of a mother; these were the thoughts chasing each other round and round in her head as she slept. She rolled over, murmuring to herself, and felt a pair of arms wrap around her, holding her close. She nuzzled against him, sighing softly, and felt him kiss her head. She opened her eyes a bit, blinking, and squinted against the light of the morning sun. Morning already? She'd thought it was earlier…or later, she wasn't sure which.

"Good morning," he said, nuzzling her ear.

"Mmm, morning," she replied, forcing her eyes open and looking over at him, her vision slightly blurred from sleep.

However, it was at that moment that the perfect silence shrouding the Capital was shattered, as there came the sound of a crash from downstairs, followed by raised voices. Sophronica sighed, closing her eyes tightly, hoping that maybe she'd just imagined what she'd heard. Of course, she had no such luck, as there was more shouting, each voice in question distinctively familiar.

"We should stop them, before they tear each other apart," Yazoo said with a sigh that mirrored hers.

"I know, I know," she groaned, sitting up, "I just wish those two would give it a rest."

"She'll grow out of it," he said.

"I hope so," she said, collecting her pants and top, "But when will she _stop_ growing like this…?"

He didn't answer for a moment, starting to get dressed as well. "Everything will be alright."

She looked to him, hesitating for a moment, then nodded, finishing getting dressed. Her outfit hadn't changed much over the years; the same black leather pants with silver stitching down the sides, which were tucked neatly into the tops of the same knee high black biker boots that she always wore. Her top was different though; a black, sleeveless vest with a plunging v-neck line and a high collar, covering her stomach entirely, but the back was long, reaching down to her ankles. Completing the look, were long black leather finger gloves that reached up to her elbows, hiding the scars on her arms.

For a second, she reached for Heaven and Hell, where they sat on hooks on the wall, but then drew back; the warrior's instinct was never quelled, but she convinced herself that she didn't need those today.

A tense scene awaited them downstairs in the main room, a currently silent stand off between two who had, moments ago, been causing such ruckus. She was roughly his height, her vivid green eyes intense as she glared at the silver-haired warrior. Her fairly long hair was the color of the sun, and she had it piled up on top of her head, done in messy twists, braids, and miniature ponytails. Her outfit though, most of all, declared that she belonged to their family; it was entirely black, entirely leather. She wore a one shouldered midriff top, with the sole right sleeve reaching her wrist, tight pants, and knee high, platform biker boots. She also wore a glove on her left hand, with straps that criss-crossed all the way up her arm to tie at her shoulder, and to complete the whole thing, there was a headband of twisted gold metal and black leather wrapped around her forehead, similar to the one her mother used to wear.

Shortly after arriving, they saw what the cause of this whole thing was; the girl had the twin-bladed katana that belonged to her uncle. She held it backhanded, slightly behind her, possessively, as if she thought it should be hers instead, though why, none of them understood; she had her own sword, a katana imbued with Materia, making the blade poisoned.

"Give it back," Kadaj snapped, starting towards her only for her to dart out of reach again.

"Faye," Sophronica said, the warning in her voice clear as she crossed her arms.

The girl flinched slightly, seemingly not aware of the other's presence until that moment, and turned, allowing Kadaj the perfect moment to snatch his beloved sword back. "My name, is Poison," she replied.

"_I_ named you Faye, _that_ is your name," Sophronica said, coming the rest of the way down the stairs, "Now why must you keep bothering him?"

Faye didn't answer for a moment, glancing over at Kadaj who was muttering to himself as he slid Souba back in its sheath. She looked back to her mother and simply shrugged. "I'm going out," she stated, heading out of the Capital.

"You're going nowhere," Sophronica said, starting after her, "_Faye_!"

Yazoo caught her by the arm though, and she reluctantly turned back to him. "Let her go," he said quietly.

"But she-" she started.

He shook his head, "Maybe it'd be best, for her to have some time to herself."

Sophronica sighed, gazing into those beautiful green cat's eyes that she loved so much. "You're right," she relented, listening to the sound of Faye's motorcycle as she left.

Yazoo brushed a stray lock of hair back from her face before kissing her, "Everything will work out; it always has."

She welcomed the touch of his velvet soft lips, and smiled a bit, sliding her arms around his neck, "Of course. All our troubles are behind us now," she said, nuzzling the side of his neck.

Kadaj cleared his throat loudly, reminding them that he was still in the room.

She turned her head to look over at him, "Good morning to you too," she said teasingly.

He rolled his eyes, but nonetheless, she saw him smile softly as he turned away from them.

* * *

It was some time later, when Faye returned. Sophronica was reclining by the spring with Yazoo, her head propped up on one hand while she dangled her bare feet into the water, stroking his silken hair back from his face. Some distance off, Kadaj had coerced Loz into sparring with him-bullied, more like it, but the eldest was used to getting bossed around by the self declared leader of the brothers. It was then that the sound of an engine made her look up, her gaze drifting to the path that led through the Sleeping Forest, winding between the crystalline trees. She hadn't expected Faye back yet-it had only been a few hours, and usually the girl would be gone for most of the day when she left.

Something was wrong though; even before her daughter reached the edge of the spring where the rest of their motorcycles were, Sophronica could see that Faye was steering one handed, cradling her right arm to her chest. She sprang to her feet as Faye brought her bike to a stop, cutting the engine, and had reached the girl by the time she'd slid from the machine.

"Faye! What happened?" she asked, her attention going to the long slash that was cut through the blonde's right arm, splitting the leather sleeve.

"Let me see," Yazoo said, startling her for a moment as she hadn't noticed him following right behind her.

He laid a gentle hand on Faye's elbow, inspecting the wound, and then held his other hand over it, a soft glow issuing from his palm.

"It was Cloud…" Faye said quietly through gritted teeth.

"Cloud?" Sophronica repeated, tensing. She hadn't seen him in…so long now, she'd been under the impression that they'd reached a silent agreement; they minded their own business and didn't cause trouble, and he didn't bother them or acknowledge their existence.

Faye nodded, her pain fading as her wound was healed. "He said something about not letting us go this time," she said, "That you've been a problem to him for far too long."

Sophronica was silent for a moment, looking to Yazoo; this couldn't be right…they hadn't done anything, there was no reason for Cloud to do this. Abruptly, she turned and started to make her way back up to the Capital.

"Sophronica?" he questioned, tilting his head slightly to the side.

She didn't answer, just continued walking, and he followed her after a moment. When he caught up to her, she was in their tower room, putting her boots back on.

"What are you going to do?" he asked, frowning slightly as he watched her taking Heaven and Hell from their perches.

"I'm going to have a word with Cloud," she replied.

"Let me go with you," he said.

"No," she snapped, whirling around and setting one gunblade katana against his shoulder. Her expression didn't match her tone though, and she looked down, quickly lowering the blade to her side, "Stay here with Faye. Don't let Kadaj do anything stupid."

"Sophronica…" he started.

She shook her head, sheathing the gunblades across her back, "Stay here, please. Protect our family," she said softly, stepping over to him, "I have to do this myself."

Yazoo gazed at her for a long moment, his haunting eyes serious, and at last he nodded, "Come back to me," he said, kissing her tenderly.

"I will," she said, smiling a bit, "I'm only going to talk to him, after all. And if he gives me any trouble, well…after Weiss, how difficult could he be?"


	2. Everybody's Fool

**A/N:**Yay; chapter two! Thank you for the review, and I promise, when Catalyst is all over, there WILL be a happy ending, because they DO deserve it after everything I put them through, heheh.

* * *

**Chapter Two – "Everybody's Fool"**

The plains of Midgar; she thought she'd have the best chance to run into him out here, so here she was, leaning back against the side of her motorcycle, her darkly tinted goggles hanging around her neck. They were a recent addition, the goggles; she'd started wearing them whenever the weather looked like it was going to turn nasty. And it certainly looked like it would be nasty today. The sky that had been clear and sunny before was now covered with black clouds, threatening a bad storm.

She knew she could have just as easily headed into Edge to find him, but she hadn't wanted to risk running into any of the others, especially not Reno; she wasn't exactly on the best of terms with them after all. This was the next best place, he should be along through here soon-and just as she was thinking that, she heard the rumble of a motorcycle. Turning, she saw some one heading towards her, and with that spiky blonde hair, there was only one person it could be.

Leaning her hands forward on the seat of her motorcycle, she waited patiently for him to bring his own to a stop and kill the ignition, removing the goggles that he wore as well. He stood next to Fenrir, reaching one hand back to the hilt of his Buster Sword as he eyed her cautiously, though she made no threatening motions.

"What do you want?" he asked, seeming unsure as to why she was just standing there like she was.

"I just want to talk to you," Sophronica replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What's there to talk about?" he said.

"Why did you attack her?" she asked, her tone flat, her eyes cold.

"I'd think that was obvious," he said, frowning a bit as though she wasn't making sense, "Because of what you're going to do."

"What…we're going to do?" she repeated, "We're not going to do anything. Why would we? I have a family, finally, and that is all I need."

"So you're not going to go through with the reunion, and recreate Sephiroth?" he said, almost somewhat challengingly.

She blinked in surprise, "The reunion? No. As much as I'd like to have him back…that's for another lifetime," she said, shaking her head, "Besides…how would we? Jenova's remains…?"

"You tell me," he said simply. He _wanted_ to believe her, _wanted_ to believe that they weren't planning on bringing back Sephiroth, but she'd tricked him before, and he knew he was going to have to do what he felt was right, to ensure the safety of this planet…and those dear to him.

"You're making a mistake," Sophronica said, uncrossing her arms as she watched him draw his Buster Sword, "But if it's a fight you want, fine."

She reached back, pulling Heaven and Hell from their sheath, her eyes never leaving Cloud. She hadn't wanted it to come to this, but she wasn't going to back down, wasn't going to run away. If he wanted to be a fool, and fight her over information that she knew with every fiber of her being was false, that was his problem. After she'd beat him into the ground, she'd force it through his thick skull that she was telling the truth. Though…she couldn't help but think, just for a moment, that before her stood the man who'd killed her brother, the man that she'd once before wanted vengeance on more than anything else in this world.

He broke her from her thoughts though, dashing towards her, and she moved forward as well, vaulting off of her motorcycle and leaping into the air above him. He did the same, leaping up to meet her, and their blades clashed midair. She used the momentum to whirl about, bringing her katana around to crash against his Buster Sword again as he blocked, though that was only a distraction for her to land a sharp kick that knocked him down out of the sky to sprawl against the side of a large boulder. Even as she was descending, she spun the gunblade katana in her hands, flames igniting down the blades, and flung dual fireballs at him. He rolled to the side, just barely dodging them, and so they hit the boulder where he'd once been instead.

The moment her feet had touched the ground again, she was rushing towards him, bringing Heaven and Hell around in downward arcs. He quickly got to his feet as she approached, blocking one katana with his sword, but the other blade sliced down through his arm, resulting in a mild, but swiftly bleeding, wound. He swung sword in retaliation, and she dodged, darting to the side and driving an elbow into his back that caused him to stumble slightly. As he turned to face her again, she slashed one gunblade upward, and he was forced to quickly pull his head back, though the tip of the blade still grazed his neck, slicing through the strap on his goggles in the process and rendering them useless as they fell to the ground.

She leapt into a kick aimed to his chest, but he blocked with the flat of his blade, knocking her back off her feet. She growled softly as she hit the ground, following through with the motion to roll back and spring to her feet again. For a moment, she simply regarded her blonde-haired opponent, and then they both charged at the same moment, blades meeting in a clash of metal and a shower of sparks, locking them into a battle of strength as each tried to push the other off balance.

"You're a fool, Cloud," she stated through gritted teeth, smashing her forehead against his with enough force to send him reeling.

She dealt a kick to his shin, and another to his chest that knocked him to the ground, "I don't want to fight you, and I'm not planning on returning Sephiroth," she said, turning away from him and pacing a bit.

"You're lying," he said, wincing a bit as he climbed to his feet.

Sophronica smirked a bit, shaking her head, "Idiot," she said, "You're just so sure of that, aren't-"

She stopped mid-sentence, whirling about as she heard his footsteps start towards her. She spun to the side as he stabbed his Buster Sword towards her, but still she felt the blade cut into the side of her vest, grazing her side and drawing blood. She didn't seem to mind the wound at all though, as she smashed a fist into his face, smirking at the crack as her knuckles connected with his nose, and of course since she held a katana in that hand, the blade slashed across his arm, opening a new wound below the first she'd dealt him.

Not giving him a chance to recover, she landed a roundhouse kick on his back, almost knocking him off his feet, and when he turned quickly to face her, she leaned to the side and delivered another hard kick to his stomach, sending him stumbling back a few feet to bump against a boulder. It was beginning to rain now, she could feel the droplets hitting her face as she stabbed Heaven and Hell into the rocky ground to free both of her hands, but the rain wasn't going to stop her. She cupped her hands together in front of her, flames bursting into existence between them. The flames grew larger as she swiftly pulled her hands further and further apart until they'd formed a large fireball. It was this burning orb that she drew back and then released in Cloud's direction.

The blonde's eyes widened, and he dove out of the way a split second before the fireball reached him. It collided with the boulder, causing the rock to explode, raining dust and chunks of it down upon him. She pulled her gunblade katana free as the rain began to turn her light silver hair a darker gray, and strode slowly over to where Cloud lay. She had no intentions of killing him, just forcing the truth into that pretty head of his. She sheathed Heaven and Hell as she reached him, kicking his Buster Sword out of his reach when he moved to grab it.

"As I've been trying to say," she started, crouching over him and pinning his arms to his sides with her knees, "We have no intentions of bringing back my brother."

He eyed her warily, "That's not what I've been lead to believe," he said.

"Listen to me!" she said with a slight growl, tangling her fingers in his shirt to shake him a bit, "I don't know where you're getting your information, but-"

Her cell phone suddenly started ringing, cutting her off, and she gave him a long, dark look before releasing his shirt to fish the sleek, ringing object out of one pocket. Feeling that it was somewhat awkward to continue sitting on top of him like this while answering whoever had the awful timing to call her at this moment, she got off of him, moving a few feet away, before flipping her phone open.

"Yeah," she said, somewhat frustrated.

"Sophronica-" she'd recognize that low, velvety voice anywhere; Yazoo, "…It's Kadaj."

"What about him?" she asked with a frown, sensing that something was wrong from his tone.

"He's gone," he said, sounding as though he were picking his words carefully.

"Gone? What do you mean, gone?" she said, feeling a chill sweep over her that had nothing to do with the rain that was falling steadily as a crack of lightning lit up the black sky.

"He left just a few minutes ago," Yazoo said, "He said something about finding Mother, to gain strength from her."

_Find…Mother…? But…there wasn't anything left of Jenova, _at least, that's what she thought…. "I'll be there soon," she said, a bit of fear flaring up within her.

"There's…something else," he said.

"What?" she asked, her throat feeling tight.

"Faye's gone too."

Those three words hit her like a slap, and the phone nearly slipped from her hand. _Faye…and Kadaj, both gone_. Kadaj talking about finding Mother…. Could Faye, their daughter, possibly have anything to do with…?

"I'm coming now," she said, striding towards her motorcycle, Cloud for the moment completely forgotten.

"We'll meet you at the edge of the Forest," he responded.

She hung up then, returning her phone to her pocket as she swung a leg over her motorcycle, rain droplets flying from her coat tails. Shaking the water from her goggles, she slid them over her eyes, turning back to Cloud briefly as she saw him standing there, quite clearly confused as to what just happened.

"We'll have to finish this later," she said, starting the engine, "I have a family matter to take care of."

With that, she turned her bike sharply, sending mud flying, and took off across the plains.


	3. Entering the Forbidden

**Chapter Three – "Entering the Forbidden"**

_She'd come up into the highest tower room-his room-where he'd been sitting by the window, leaning against the curving frame to look out at the Spring below, and the Sleeping Forest beyond. The slash in her top was the only reminder left to prove her encounter with Cloud earlier, though the wound itself had been healed by Yazoo._

_She tilted her head to the side, pausing in the doorway for a moment. "What're you thinking about?" she asked quietly, so as to not startle him._

_He looked over at the sound of her voice, sighing a bit as he decided whether to answer her or not, considering what a brat she'd been that morning. "Just…things," he replied at last._

"_About Cloud?" she guessed, starting slowly across the room towards him._

_Looking back out the window again, he nodded a bit, "Mhmm."_

"_He's always caused my family problems…hasn't he?" Faye asked, pausing by the window as well._

"_Unfortunately," he replied, glancing over to her again as he wondered what she wanted._

_She was silent for a moment as she sat down opposite him, drawing her knees up to her chest and regarding him with her vibrant green eyes._

"_I just wish…that just once, I could be able to protect them…" he said quietly after a moment, his gaze fixed on some random point out the window._

"_You could, couldn't you?" she said, "With Jenova's cells, you could become strong enough?"_

"_Yes," he said, looking to her sharply; how did she know that? He didn't recall any of them ever telling her about that. "But Mother's all gone…forever."_

"_But she's not," Faye said, her eyes seeming brighter than usual, "I know a way."_

"_What do you mean?" he asked, his full attention on her now._

"_I know where the last of her is," she said, nodding, "If you find her, you can become strong enough to protect our family."_

"_But…Mother's all gone…" Kadaj said again, frowning slightly._

_She shook her head, "She's not; under Midgar, where Deepground used to be. They hold the last collection of cells, the very last bit of Jenova."_

_He gazed at her for a long moment, trying to absorb what she was saying. How could she possibly know this? Could this be something that Sophronica had told her at some point? "How…are you sure?" he asked finally._

_The girl nodded again, seeming to be quite sincere on being helpful. "I can take you there; I can show you where she is."_

_He gazed at her for another long moment, before shaking his head. "I can't," he said, turning his gaze back out the window._

"_Why not?" she asked, puzzled, as she tilted her head to the side a bit._

"_I…" he started. He wasn't really sure, he just had this feeling that it wouldn't be what Sophronica and his brothers would want him to do, not now. Before, yes, but not now. "I don't know."_

"_It's the only way you'll be strong enough to protect them always," she insisted gently, "Cloud will never stop, don't you see that now? He won't stop until our family is dead."_

_Kadaj looked back to her, silent for a moment; he knew she was right, at least on the last part. Protecting their family shouldn't be a burden that fell solely on Sophronica; he should be strong enough to help too. After all, there were times when she would need protecting as well. He loved her as Yazoo loved her, and he wouldn't be able to stand seeing anything ever happen to her._

"_I can take you there," she said again, climbing to her feet._

_His gaze followed her, but he didn't move yet himself, considering all of this still. "Are you sure…are you sure she's there?"_

_Faye smiled, nodding, "Of course I'm sure," she replied, holding out her hand._

_He hesitated for a moment; something said that this wasn't right, but then again…isn't this what _Mother_ wanted to begin with? The Reunion? With her help, he'd have the strength to protect his family from Cloud…_

_At last, he reached out, placing his hand in hers, and she helped him stand, her smile growing slightly. "Alright…" he said._

"_If we're lucky, we can make it there before the rain starts," she said, starting across the room towards the stairs._

_He looked to the window as he followed after her, seeing a streak of lightning light up the dark sky, and he highly doubted that, but said nothing._

"_Where are you going?" Yazoo asked them with a puzzled frown as he watched them walking towards the exit of the main room, once they'd come downstairs._

"_To find Mother," Kadaj said over his shoulder to his older brother, "So I'll be stronger, and we'll never have to worry about Cloud or anyone ever again."_

_Find Mother…? What was he talking about? "Kadaj, wait," Yazoo said, starting after them, but he was too late; they were both on their motorcycles already, neither paying any attention to him…_

* * *

The rain was coming down harder now as Sophronica sped towards the Forest, the drops hitting her goggles and then rolling off from the wind force, the other droplets stinging her face and chest, dripping down the back of her neck and sending a shiver down her spine. This couldn't be happening…whatever it was exactly that was going on. They'd finally found peace, with no new threats, and now…they had this. And Cloud.

She was closely approaching the line of trees at the edge of the Sleeping Forest, and her gaze swept along it. There; two dark spots standing out against the pearlescent trees, just inside the start of the path, under whatever little cover the bare limbs provided. She quickly slowed down as she reached them, sharply turning her motorcycle as she stopped, and trying not to spray them with mud and water, not that they weren't already soaked as it was.

"Did either of them say anything about where they were headed?" she called to them over the sounds of engines and driving rain.

Yazoo shook his head, trying to push some of his wet hair back from his face, "I tried contacting them; no answer from Kadaj _or_ Faye."

She looked over to Loz; he was silent, but she could tell from his expression that he was worried about them. "Don't worry," she said, "We'll find them. Everything will be alright."

He nodded a bit, but didn't seem very reassured.

She looked back to Yazoo, thinking quickly. "Midgar," she said after a moment, "That's where everything started, after all. Where else would anything to do with Jenova be?"

Yazoo considered this a second, glancing over at Loz to see the eldest brother's thoughts on this, but he just blinked. "You're probably right," he said to Sophronica.

"Let's go then," she said, uneasy and impatient.

She didn't wait for either of them to respond, she just revved the engine, turning the rest of the way and taking off in the direction of Midgar. Second later, she heard the sounds of engines next to her, and looked over to see Yazoo on her right side, and Loz on his other side, somewhat behind, but staying close. Her gaze met Yazoo's for a moment, despite the goggles that she wore, and after a second, he nodded, returning his attention to steering. _Everything'll be alright._ That's what that simple nod said, and she hoped more than anything that he was right.

* * *

They stood before the building below which were the remains of Deepground, squinting against the pouring rain. He looked warily to the black doorway that led under the ruins, and to him it seemed like a hungry mouth waiting to swallow him whole. A dark foreboding place that was telling him to leave, to get as far away as possible. It seemed so much darker, so much more corrupted now, with all of Deepground gone, than it had two years ago when they'd all been here for the final showdown.

"Come on," his blonde niece said, dismounting her motorcycle and starting towards the entrance, though she stopped and turned back to him when he didn't move. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said, blinking from his reverie and moving to stand beside his own motorcycle, though hesitated again.

"If you're scared, we can go back," she offered innocently, though he knew she was mocking him.

"I'm _not_ scared," he growled, striding forward towards that black hole.

"Good," she said brightly, leading the way once more.

For just a second, he had the fleeting thought that she was like the devil, leading him down into the depths of hell, but he knew that was absurd…

* * *

She growled softly as her gaze swung to the figure that was swiftly approaching them as they raced across the Midgar Plains; how she was growing to despise the sight of that spiky blonde hair again. He was such an idiot, couldn't he get it through his thick skull that they were no longer his enemies? That they didn't give a damn about him or destroying this planet?

"Don't engage him directly, just slow him down; we don't have the time to waste fighting him," she called over to Yazoo and Loz, ending up with a mouth full of rain water as she did.

Cloud was currently an easy target since he was coming at them from straight ahead, and she raised one hand, gathering an orb of crackling blue energy instead of the usual fire due to the weather. She threw the orb, aiming at the ground in front of him, and it made a small crater when it hit, sending up a cloud of dirt and rocks and forcing him to swerve around it. As he was straightening his motorcycle out, Yazoo opened fire on him, forcing him to swerve again, and Sophronica threw another energy orb, though this one hit the front of his bike. She watched with a slight smirk as the energy traveled swiftly through the machine and short circuited it; he'd be stuck there for a while getting it to work right again.

The three blew past him as he cursed, continuing on their way towards the ruins of the once great city of Midgar, but there was nothing he could do at this very moment to stop them.


	4. The Road to Despair

**Chapter Four – "The Road to Despair"**

He wasn't usually bothered by such things, but he did _not_ like it down here, in the dark. The power was spotty, working here and there where it decided that it wanted to work, lighting up a random computer terminal, or, if they were lucky, a stray over head light. Though, considering how long this place had gone without any human activity, it was amazing that anything still worked. He had no idea where they were going, or where they were currently located in this underground maze of a complex; without Faye, he knew he'd be hopelessly lost and perhaps never find the exit out of here.

It just didn't feel right, the atmosphere, it felt heavy, dark, almost sorrowful, and at any moment, he half expected a specter to emerge from the gloom and warn them to turn back, like in those corny old horror flicks that he'd caught glimpses of. He was just being paranoid, he told himself, and this was simply no way for a warrior to think, even if he gave the appearance of being utterly at ease, not bothered one bit. He wished they would find Mother, so he could leave this place.

"How much further?" he asked, his voice breaking the silence and echoing through the dark halls.

"Not much," she replied, looking back at him over her shoulder.

He marveled at how she could appear completely at ease in this place, and wondered if, all those times she'd vanished all day, she'd been coming here, and exploring the ruins. How else, could she know her way around here as if she lived here?

As they passed by a particularly dark doorway, there came a soft noise from within, and he stopped, frowning slightly as he peered into the gloom. There couldn't possibly be any Deepground soldiers left here, could there? He certainly couldn't imagine any homeless living down here-he was sure they could find much better places that didn't make the hair on the back of your neck stand straight up all the time. As he was looking though, he could have sworn he saw something move within the depths of the room, a huge, behemoth shape, and a brief, animalistic eye gleam.

"Uncle Daj?" she called from down the hall, her voice making him jump and look over to where she stood.

When he looked back to the room, there was nothing, and he hurried to catch up with her, shaking his head and telling himself that he'd just imagined it.

* * *

The rain had let up a bit, falling in a drizzle now, but it probably wouldn't last long. She hoped it would though; navigating through the ruins was much easier without so much water to mask large holes, and to make the ground slick. She couldn't say exactly why she was taking this particular way, it was almost as if something familiar was beckoning her, or leading her, but after a while, they found themselves in a familiar section of Midgar.

The area was littered with large chunks of rubble and destroyed, rusted train cars that seemed out of place all gathered before the large ruined building. For a moment, she thought that she'd lead them wrong, and they'd hit a dead end only to have to start over, but that was when she saw the two motorcycles. They were parked by the entrance to the building, and so she drove to that point as well, killing the ignition and pulling her goggles down from her face, pushing her soaked bangs back from her eyes as she turned to her brothers.

"It looks like they went this way," Sophronica said, dismounting her motorcycle as they did the same.

"But this is…" Yazoo started, frowning.

"I know; Deepground," she finished, lowering her head a bit.

Just standing here brought back so many old memories, of everything Deepground and the Tsviets had put them though, but there was no more Deepground; there was only the blackened shell of their complex, and Kadaj and Faye somewhere within its depths, seemingly, for whatever reason.

Yazoo walked over to her, threading his fingers between hers, and she raised her head, meeting his gaze. "We'll find them," he said softly.

"I know," she said, smiling a bit, though it was a nervous smile, "And when we do, I'm grounding Faye for the rest of her life."

He _almost_ smiled, though couldn't bring himself to, even to reassure her. Brushing his other hand across her cheek, he leaned in to kiss her, but Loz's voice stopped them.

"Some one's here."

They drew apart, both turning to look at the eldest brother. His gaze was focused past them, on the black doorway that led down into the old Deepground complex.

"It's probably Kadaj and Faye," Sophronica said, turning towards the door herself.

"I don't think so…" Loz said, tensing.

She frowned slightly, starting to turn back to ask who it could possibly be then, but the answer became quite clear.

A large form exploded through the doorway, so great in size that it shattered the frame, sending rubble and twisted metal flying through the air. It was a blur as it moved, charging directly for Sophronica and leaping. The creature hit her like a ton of bricks, slamming her to ground and holding her down with a single paw against her chest-a paw, of course, that was bigger than her head. She heard voices, followed by gunfire, but the bullets seemed to merely bounce of its thick hide, and it growled in annoyance.

As her vision cleared, she began to realize that the behemoth was no average creature. In fact, it wasn't an actual creature at all-well, not really. Her eyes widened slightly as it looked down at her, an almost human grin twisting its sharp toothed maw. It almost seemed to be mocking her, as if it knew why she was here and had some secret knowledge of events yet to happen.

This couldn't be…How could…after all this time? But she remembered what Weiss had said, that fateful day when all the fighting had finally ended-or so she'd thought; _Azul has other matters to attend to…_

"_Azul_," she said aloud.

"I have waited two years for this day," he grumbled, his voice distorted by his inhuman mouth, "But the time has finally come."

He turned suddenly, roaring at Loz as the eldest brother darted towards him lightning quick. Azul raised one massive paw, batting Loz away as if he were no more than an annoying fly. Finding herself free, Sophronica rolled to the side and sprang to her feet, reaching back to draw Heaven and Hell. Azul growled as Yazoo shot at him again, the bullets once more not having much of an effect. The massive behemoth turned towards the silver-haired remnant, leaping forward and swatting at him, though Yazoo managed to dodge.

"Azul!" Sophronica threatened, shouting to be heard over the beast's roar, "I _will_ kill you!"

He began to laugh, the sound deep and rumbling, "I highly doubt that, little one."

She growled in response, getting a running start before leaping onto Azul's broad back. "Yazoo, Loz, be careful!" she started, plunging her twin gunblade katana down into the behemoth's shoulders.

Azul uttered another roar, shaking hard, and dislodged her from his back, swinging a paw at her even as she fell and knocked her against a pile of rubble.

"Sophronica!" she heard Yazoo shout.

She grimaced, forcing herself to her feet. "He's one of the strongest warriors I've seen," she finished through gritted teeth, though her point had been proved already.

Loz raced towards Azul, so fast he was almost a blur, and Sophronica had to admire the speed that the eldest brother possessed. He punched his left hand forward, the double prongs of his Dual Hound colliding with the behemoth's flank, and electricity crackled through the wet air, but it didn't seem to affect Azul much, if at all, except to annoy him. Azul whirled about, surprisingly fast for being in the form of such a large beast, and swung at Loz. He dodged easily though, possessing even more speed than the behemoth, luckily.

While he was distracted, Sophronica moved forward swiftly, stabbing her blades into Azul's side. Her katana only pierced slightly through his thick skin, but it was obvious that he _felt_ this finally, as he gave a throaty growl, turning quickly and swiping at her with one paw. She dove out of the way, rolling to her feet, and spun as he swung at her again. She couldn't evade this attack, and took the blow hard across the chest. The force of it sent her flying backwards until she crashed into some one's-she wasn't quite sure whose-motorcycle, knocking it over. She winced, raising one hand to the five widespread slashes that were cut through her vest and skin, drawing blood, from his claws.

As she got to her feet, using Heaven and Hell to support herself, she heard Yazoo call her name, and looked up to see him coming towards her while Loz battled Azul solo-and not doing quite so bad, as he was able to dodge nearly all of the behemoth's attacks with his speed. Her wounds stung, she wasn't sure how deep his claws had cut, but it didn't hurt nearly as bad as that time-nothing yet compared to being shot in the chest twice.

Yazoo held a hand over her wounds, intending to heal her, but she swatted it away, shaking her head, "There's no time for that," she said, starting to walk around him.

He caught her by the shoulder, pushing her back, and she was surprised by the strength of his grip. "I will not lose you again. Not ever," he said fiercely, a burning intensity in his eyes that she hadn't seen in years.

"You won't," she said, "I'll be fine."

She tried to push his hand off her shoulder, but he resisted, and there was a bit of a warning in her eyes when she looked back to him. Catching her off guard, he kissed her deeply, and all at once she realized that he was afraid. Afraid to lose her, or his brothers…or Faye. When he drew back, she started to nod, to show that she understood, but her gaze shifted to behind him, and she suddenly shoved him out of the way, leaping straight up to avoid the swing of Azul's tail.

Growling softly, and her wounds for the moment forgotten, she charged forward, running up and across Azul's back to straddle his shoulders. Even as he began to try and throw her off, she raised Heaven and Hell high, and plunged them with all her strength into his shoulders. The blades pierced deep, and the beast uttered a guttural roar in pain, doubling his efforts to rid himself of her. However, she clung tightly to him, reaching forward to wrap her hands around the horns that curved from his head.

"You will not defeat me!" Azul rumbled in a pain laced growl as she wrenched hard to one side.

"We'll just see about that," Sophronica replied through gritted teeth, wrenching his head now to the other side.

There was a wet ripping sound, and the behemoth roared again, rearing back on his hind legs. She refused to let go though, pulling harder to one side, and all at once she was flying backwards through the air as a flash of light lit up the area, blinding them all for a moment. She crashed into Loz, and they both fell to the ground with a splash. Finding herself breathless for a moment, she rolled over, allowing him to get up as she too scrambled to her feet, slipping for a moment on the mud.

The light faded to reveal Azul the Cerulean as she was used to seeing him; human. He towered above them all at an easy seven foot, maybe more, and even wounded he was terribly intimidating. As she regained her breath, he reached back and pulled her katana free with a grunt from where they'd been pierced into the back of his shoulders, tossing them off to either side of him. He swung his burning yellow eyes to her and growled, stepping forward.

"Do not be so foolish as to assume you've won yet," he sneered, his voice nearly as deep as it had been when he was in the form of the behemoth.

She didn't answer to that, her gaze darting quickly to where he'd thrown her blades, and then looked back to him. She was glad that he wasn't in possession of that monster of a weapon he usually wielded; that would have made him incredibly formidable even wounded, but now he was unarmed.

"How's your neck?" she said with a smirk, taunting him.

His face twisted into a snarl, and he charged towards her. For a second, she didn't move, throwing a glance over to Loz, who nodded, and then she rolled under Azul's punch, coming up behind him and dashing towards her gunblades as Loz slammed his Dual Hound into Azul's stomach. The Cerulean Warrior stumbled back a step from the blow, whereas others would have been knocked on their asses. As Sophronica collected her katana, Yazoo opened fire on Azul, the blue-haired Tsviet not having anywhere to go to dodge the bullets.

Despite being shot numerous times, Azul did not fall, though he did bleed. Bleeding wasn't enough; he could still pummel them all into nonexistence before he bled to death-_if_ he bled to death. While the Tsviet turned towards Yazoo, Loz dealt a blow to his side with Dual Hound, causing Azul to stumble slightly, but then turn to smack the eldest brother away with enough force to send him reeling.

Reunited with Heaven and Hell once more, she turned back to the fight, thinking fast on how they were going to take Azul down. Unfortunately, only one thing came to her mind. Gripping her katana, she dashed towards the Cerulean Warrior from behind, nearly slipping in a puddle from the still falling rain, and leaped, bracing herself with her forearms against his shoulders until she had her legs wrapped around his chest. She knew that his surprise wouldn't last long, and pulled back a little, enough to give herself room to properly move her gunblades. He reached back for her, almost flailing for a moment, until he managed to wrap one hand around her thigh, the other gripping her side, and prepared to rip her off of him, but she was already swinging her katana.

Each blade came from a different side, being pulled around in a tight, fast arc, aimed clearly for his neck. As strong as he was, he was still human-in this form, at least, and so there was nothing to stop her blades from slicing through his flesh, severing his head. He fell with a resounding thud, head rolling off into the darkness, and she winced as her lower legs were somewhat crushed beneath him. She struggled for a few moments, finally succeeding in freeing herself, and stood beside his still form, blood pooling around him.

Breathing hard, she returned her katana to their sheath on her back, the rain falling harder again now and stinging the wounds she'd received from the Cerulean's behemoth form. She gave a last, lingering glance to Azul's form, almost as if she was worried he'd get back up again, and then looked over to where Yazoo and Loz were, making sure they were alright.

"Well that was fun," Loz said dryly, trying to work a few kinks out of his arms.

Yazoo made his way over to where Sophronica stood, and this time when he lifted a hand to heal her wounds, she didn't stop him. She stroked the side of his face softly for a moment, a sign of appreciation and affection.

"I hope that's the last of our surprises," she said softly with a sigh, turning to face the dark doorway from which Azul had burst forth.

Down there…down there was where Faye and Kadaj were. If Azul had been here waiting for them, after all this time…what other dangers lay in store for them? Or, a better question, _why_ had Azul been here in the first place, for what purpose?

"Come on…lets find them," she said, looking back to the brothers, her hand brushing along Yazoo's before she started forward towards the black entrance.


	5. Unraveling

**A/N:** And this is where people will start to be mad at me o.o –Readies riot shield to hide behind-

* * *

**Chapter Five – "Unraveling"**

He followed more closely behind her now after he had imagined seeing whatever that beast had been back there, both not wanting to get lost and feeling more uneasy the further they went. He was becoming anxious, somewhat frustrated; this was starting to feel like a wild goose chase, and not at all pleasant in any way. Plus, he was pretty sure he was now imagining that the darkness around them was moving, twisting and shifting as if it had a mind of its own. However, Faye didn't seem to notice anything wrong, and so he took that as a good sign; the girl was quite edgy most of the time after all, and if something was stalking them or such, she would notice. _Get a grip_, he told himself, running a hand back through his silver hair, _you're doing this to _protect_ them; you can't chicken out._

"Ah, here we go," Faye said at last, turning into a room that looked like a small laboratory, from what he could see in the luminescence of the sole flickering overhead light.

"Finally," he muttered, pausing on one side of a bank of computers while he watched her.

The blonde walked over to what appeared to be some sort of high tech cooling/storage device, and punched the security keypad, short circuiting it and causing the door to slide open. As he watched her rummage about in the gloom-the light in the storage container seeming to have blown a long time ago-he thought he saw something odd. For a moment, it almost looked like there was another figure faded over hers; taller, a man possibly, but almost too dark to tell-darkly dressed, dark hair. The sight flickered in and out with the light overhead, and he frowned, reaching one hand back to rest on the hilt of Souba. However, it vanished when she turned back to him, tossing something at him that he deftly caught in his other hand, looking down at it.

"Just like I told you," she said, not bothering to close the storage unit again as she walked back over to him.

This was…this was Mother! He could feel it, feel her from within this little box, and for a moment he thought he had to be dreaming. "What exactly…is it?" He asked carefully, managing to tear his attention away from the box long enough to look up at Faye.

"Ah, you're probably better off not knowing," she replied, cringing a bit.

He held onto the box tightly, as if afraid to lose it. "Can we get out of here now?" he asked, looking around uneasily.

"Yeah," she said, nodding, "I know an easier way; there's an elevator this way."

Kadaj narrowed his eyes, glaring at her as best he could through the veil of silver hair that fell over half his face. "Why…didn't you mention this before?" he asked slowly.

She grinned innocently, as if saying, 'don't hit me'. "It's not easily accessible from the outside," she explained, continuing farther down the hallway to a bend.

He didn't say anything to that, just followed her, considering everything that was going on. Really, he just wanted out of this place, and to figure out what he had seen before, that shadowy figure. Of course, there was also the reunion…

She hit a button that was faintly glowing on the wall, and after a moment there was a soft ping, and an even darker space opened up in front of them in the wall. The light inside flickered on and off, showing that there actually was an elevator there and not just a black space. She stepped forward without hesitation, walking into the elevator and beckoning him forward. He stood where he was for a moment more, eyeing the elevator warily as he clutched the small box to his chest, and then finally moved towards it, stepping in beside her.

The doors slid shut as she hit one of the uppermost buttons, and the elevator began to ascend. They were silent until the doors opened again, revealing a half destroyed level of the upper building. He stepped out, grateful to be free from that evil, dark place. It was still raining, though not as hard as before, and he welcomed the drops on his face anyway, despite the fact that his hair was still wet.

* * *

Sophronica was just about to move through the doorway and into darkness, but the sound of Loz's voice stopped her. She turned back to see what was up, and saw him standing back some many yards, his gaze fixed somewhere up and behind where she stood. She looked to Yazoo, frowning slightly, and made her way over to where Loz stood. She tilted her head back, looking up as well. At first, she didn't see what had captured his attention, but then she spotted a splash of silver, and then beside that, a spot of blonde.

"Kadaj!" she shouted, and she saw him turn at the sound of her voice.

Finally; it was so good to have found them, to know that they were both alright. She was impatient to reach them, not wanting to deal with climbing up there, and felt a familiar itching on her shoulder blades. A second later, her single wing flared out-the one she'd received from Deepground had faded out over time after their destruction-cutting through the raindrops. She flapped it once, then twice, fighting against the heavy atmosphere and lack of any updraft, and found herself soaring into the air. Catching a glimpse of Yazoo and Loz quickly beginning to scale the building, she headed towards Kadaj and Faye.

The moment her feet touched the level they were on, she threw her arms around Kadaj, not even noticing the box he held until one of the corners jabbed her. She drew back enough to look down, curving her wing over their heads to shield them. Inclining her head slightly, she looked over to Faye.

"Do either of you have any idea how much we've been worrying?" Sophronica demanded, keeping her hands protectively on Kadaj's shoulders, "What we've _been_ though to find you?" she turned her gaze to Faye, "What were you thinking?"

Before Faye could respond though, Kadaj pushed Sophronica away from him, grumbling quietly. "I can take care of myself," he snapped.

Sophronica gave him a bewildered look, "Of course you can," she said.

"Go on," Faye said to him, seeming to be completely ignoring Sophronica's presence, "Join with Mother, and get the power you need for your family."

Sophronica's eyes widened, "_What_? But Jenova-"

"The last of Mother is right here," Kadaj said protectively, taking a few steps back from them and patting the box he held, which was even smaller than the one that had held Jenova's head at one point.

Sophronica just stood there, only able to blink as she tried to absorb this information, her wing drooping back to her side. She heard Yazoo and Loz finally arrive behind them, but couldn't bring herself to move. "What Cloud said was true…" she said faintly.

"I have to do this; so I can be strong enough to protect my family," Kadaj said, and she knew that he was serious.

"You don't _have_ to," she protested, taking a step towards him, "Everything'll be alright as it is."

He shook his head, taking another step away, "No, it won't. I _must_ do this."

"Kadaj?" she heard Loz say, and he sounded hurt, confused.

She started towards the youngest brother now, tired of talking and intending to simply remove whatever remains of Jenova were in his grasp, but he darted back, dashing for the half ruined stairs that led to the next floor. She strode forward to follow him, but the sound of Faye's laughter stopped her, making her turn back to her daughter.

"Faye, what…?" she started, frowning.

"Honestly," the blonde said, crossing her arms over her chest, "You'll never figure it out on your own, will you?"

Sophronica narrowed her eyes; what was wrong with the girl? What was she doing, and for what goal? "Why don't you tell me? Why do you want Kadaj to become Sephiroth? …Why did you tell Cloud?"

Faye shook her head, regarding her mother with a smirk. "No, not yet," she said after a moment, uncrossing her arms and drawing her poisoned katana.

Sophronica blinked, held in place by disbelief of the fact that her own daughter was raising a blade against her. Faye charged at her, lifting her katana, and at the last moment, Loz pushed her out of the way, blocking the blow with Dual Hound. Sophronica stumbled, almost starting to fall until Yazoo caught her, pulling her back. She looked over to him, meeting his gaze, and saw that he was just as confused as she was.

Faye smirked again, attacking again. Once more Loz blocked, but he didn't fight back; he didn't want to hurt her. She knew this though, and didn't hesitate in taking advantage of this fact. She kept up a fast onslaught of attacks, her blade clashing against his Dual Hound with a shower of sparks each time. But then, she did the unexpected; she feigned a blow and darted under his defense, driving her blade through his chest. The expression on his face was that of pain and utter betrayal, the look someone would get if they kicked a puppy or some other innocent, trusting little creature.

As the blonde pulled her blade back, Sophronica felt her breath catch in her chest as her throat became tight. No…no…. Beside her, she felt Yazoo stiffen, and as Loz started to fall, he darted to his side, catching him and lowering him to the ground. After a second, she moved as well, crouching beside them and raising her wing to keep the rain off of Loz. She felt numb, still caught in a state of disbelief, as she took Loz's hand, knowing she couldn't do anything more due to her lack of healing abilities. Not that it seemed to be working…Yazoo was trying to heal the wound, but it refused, instead, it was getting worse. The poison…the poison from Faye's katana, it was spreading through his system, infecting his entire being.

"I will _not_ allow you to die," Yazoo said fiercely through gritted teeth.

"Loz…" Sophronica said softly, fighting to even be able to breathe as she lifted her other hand to his cheek, "Come on, please."

The eldest brother looked from Yazoo to her, coughing up a bit of blood, "I'm…sorry…" he said weakly.

"Sorry?" she blinked, "Sorry for what? You have nothing to apologize for, nothing."

"That I can't…protect my family…always…" he spoke so softly that she had to lean closer to catch the words.

Tears stung her eyes, and she placed a soft kiss on his forehead, "It's alright," she whispered, "It's alright, just hang on."

He was fading though, despite his brother's efforts.

"Loz?" Yazoo said, holding on to him tighter when he didn't get a response, "Loz?"

It was starting, she could see it; his body was starting to dissolve into a flurry of green orbs, returning to the Lifestream.

"No!" she said, tears spilling down her cheeks, but it was far beyond the point where words would do any good.

He was fading away right before their eyes, _dying_, and there was nothing they could do to help. She found herself clutching only air, his hand that had been held in hers now gone, all of him…faded out. No…she couldn't believe this; this wasn't supposed to happen, especially not Faye…

Yazoo rose to his feet, and she could see that his eyes were more distant than ever before. At the realization that he had snapped, been overcome with sorrow, she rose as well, suddenly filled with an intense fear that she would lose him as well. She reached out a trembling hand to his shoulder, but he wrenched away from her touch, shooting her a dark glare that made her pull her hand back, blinking as if he'd slapped her. Drawing Velvet Nightmare from his side, he stalked towards Faye, hesitating a moment at remembering that she was his daughter. That was overridden by the fact that she'd just murdered his brother though.

"This is all your fault," he growled.

Faye smirked, "Yes, it is," she said.

She charged at him, and he raised Velvet Nightmare, the metal colliding with a metallic screeching.

"Yazoo! Don't!" Sophronica shouted, but her words meant nothing to them.


	6. Twins

**A/N:**Thank you for the review =) Ahem, here we have the next chapter, and yes, yes, I know what the reactions are going to be; but bear with me people. There is another chapter left after this one. –Hires armed guards and scuttles behind riot shield-

* * *

**Chapter Six – "Twins"**

Faye swung her katana at him, he blocked and shoved her back, trying to knock her off balance, but she was stronger and more sure footed than he ever remembered her being. She lashed out with a kick that caught him in the side, but he shook off the blow, shooting at her. She dodged the bullets with ease, bringing her blade down towards his shoulder. He deflected the attack with Velvet Nightmare, swinging the flat of the blade towards her head. She rolled out of the way, coming up behind him and leaping into a kick aimed at the back of his head.

Yazoo turned in time to catch her foot, throwing her backwards. She hit the ground, quickly rolling to her feet and slashing her katana at him. Once more he blocked. She was fast, but so was he, and they matched blows, striking and blocking, striking and blocking.

Sophronica could only stand and watch, unsure of what to do, grief twisting her mind. She wanted to help Yazoo, but even though she'd killed Loz, she couldn't bring herself to attack Faye. Faye was her daughter, their daughter, why would she want to do this? Why would she try to destroy her own family? None of it made sense, nothing at all. She just didn't…understand…

They continued to clash, neither of them seeming to gain or lose any ground over the other, until…Faye pivoted to the side, slashing her sword along his side and cutting through his coat. It wasn't a fatal wound by itself, but it allowed the poison the blade was laced with to enter his blood stream, to infect him. He stumbled, but didn't fall, instead bringing Velvet Nightmare around in a fast, savage arc. The bottom edge of the gunblade cut into Faye's shoulder even as she tried to dodge away, and she cried out as blood splashed down her arm.

The wound didn't stop her though, or even slow her, as she stabbed her katana at him, again and again. He struggled to dodge each one, but the last pierced the side of his chest, again not a fatal wound by itself, but it introduced more poison that was spreading quickly. He stumbled hard, trying and failing to stay on his feet. Sophronica's eyes widened as he fell, and some one screamed. She realized with a start that it was _her_ screaming as she rushed to his side, cradling him in her arms. She didn't know what to do-what _could_ she do?-as she pressed a hand over the wound on his chest.

"It's alright; you're going to be alright," she said, though her voice was shaking, choked with tears.

He looked up at her, his breathing shallow and forced-damn that blade of Faye's!-and raised a hand to her face. She laid a hand over his, holding on tightly and leaning into his touch. Dammit! Why wasn't she able to heal? Why could she do nothing for him?

"I love you…" he said softly, his pained eyes searching hers.

"I love you too…Tenshi," she whispered, the tears spilling faster down her cheeks, "You're going to be alright, you have to be."

"Don't cry…I will see you again," Yazoo started, wincing slightly.

"You're not going anywhere!" she insisted, trying to fight back her tears so that she could speak, "You're not going to-"

"Sophronica…"

She fell silent, holding onto him tighter, and let him speak.

"Don't let our deaths be in vain," he said quietly, and she knew what he meant, but she wasn't sure if she could carry on, "We'll be together again…another lifetime…"

He was starting to weaken and fade, just like Loz had, and she clung tighter, her tears mixing with the rain to fall upon his face, "Don't go," she pleaded, though she knew her words had no affect on things, "Please…come back to me."

"I will…I…promise…"

She could see the life fading from his eyes, and she began to cry harder, leaning down to kiss those velvet lips one last time. As she drew back, she saw a small, fleeting smile grace his features. Those green lights, those all too familiar green lights were beginning to swirl and dance around his form, and she knew they were going to take him from her, to rip him from her arms no matter how tightly she held on to him. No, no, no…. She didn't want this to be the last time she saw his beautiful face, or the last time she heard his voice that she loved so much. She didn't want to live without the warmth of his eyes, or the comfort of his embrace.

She would have fought off every army on the face of the planet to protect him, but there was nothing she could do to stop those dancing green orbs that were beginning to sweep him along with them, to dissolve his form and steal him from her arms. He had changed her life so much, they had gone though so much together, over all these years, she couldn't lose him now…and yet she was. She closed her eyes, unable to bear watching him fade out into those lights completely, leaving her clutching at only air as it started to rain harder again.

This couldn't be happening, right? This all had to be some horrible nightmare. Azul must have knocked her out during their fight, and she was still unconscious, that had to be it, right? Because there was no way she'd just watched half her family die, no way she'd just…. But it wasn't a dream, she knew that, as much as she wished it was.

"Well, now that _that's_ over…" she heard Faye say.

She sat back on her knees, her wing drooping beside her and vanishing in a dark flurry, as she'd lost the will to move. She heard footsteps coming towards her, and the tip of a blade was slid under her chin, forcing her to raise her head.

"That's better," Faye said once Sophronica was looking up at her.

"You still don't understand, do you?"

Sophronica didn't answer, just blinked. Silent tears fell from her wide, distant eyes. It was at that moment though, that there came a flash of light from the level above them, and Faye turned a bit; the reunion.

"Such a shame; that you never noticed once over these two years," Faye said, turning back to her, "It was the first thing I ever taught you; darkness never dies."

She frowned slightly, the words not making sense. Darkness…? What was Faye talking about…?

"And I am darkness, Lucid."

Her eyes grew slightly wider as the words began to sink in. _Darkness…Lucid…no…. _That was…absurd. There was no way that…. "Nero…" she whispered.

"You took everything from me," Nero/Faye said, and she could see it now; his image flickering in and out faintly around the blonde's form, "It's only fair to return the favor."

"But…how…?"

"Young minds are so easy to possess and corrupt," they said with a smirk, "She hasn't been Faye since Deepground's fall."

This was…this had all been Nero…? He'd…taken her whole family from her-Loz; dead. Yazoo; dead. Kadaj; as good as dead. Faye; gone. The only one she had left now was…. She looked blankly at the girl who had once been her daughter, but now seemed to reside merely as an empty shell for Nero the Sable. She didn't know how he had survived all this time, but…did it really matter? He had managed to accomplish destroying her entire world without his own body, as a mere ghost able to only possess and corrupt, just as he'd said.

"Why…why…all this time?"

"This body would have been useless before," Nero/Faye said simply with a shrug. "Now you know the pain I felt, how much it hurt when you stole him away from me."

She opened her mouth to speak, but could only utter a soft, strangled noise.

"I waited so long to avenge my brother. The time has come; goodbye Lucid," they said, raising Faye's katana.

Sophronica didn't even attempt to move; she didn't care if she died now, she'd lost everything. What point would there be in living anymore? Just as Nero/Faye was bringing her sword down, there was a faint fluttering sound behind them, and a soft touch of footsteps. They started to turn when a gloved hand slid over their shoulder, gripping their chin almost gently, and snapped their neck. She felt nothing as she watched Faye die-hopefully Nero as well, for good this time-and that fact would have scared her-except being afraid no longer meant anything to her either.

"_No one_ lays a hand on my sister," she heard a voice say.

That was…a familiar voice; low and cold, with almost a bit of a purr. She knew that voice…despite not having heard it for so many years. She tilted her head back, her gaze traveling up his form before landing on his handsome face that seemed a million miles away right now due to his height. A flicker of recognition passed through her eyes, but she couldn't bring herself to return his soft smile, and after a moment, the expression faded. He knelt before her, reaching out a hand to her shoulder, but she just blinked at him.

"Sophronica?"

She realized that he was concerned about her-this made it, what, the third time she'd ever known him to show it? The first time when they'd been kids, and she'd nearly been killed in that one training exercise-he'd raged for a week over that, and the second was that time, with the experimental drug; the result had been, ah, less than pretty. This was not how she'd ever imagined reuniting with him would be, not losing everything first, not losing…

Finally bringing herself to move, she leaned forward, wrapping her arms around him, her fingers tangling tightly in his long, silken hair that hadn't yet been soaked by the rain, and nuzzled his shoulder. He hadn't expected that, but didn't say anything, allowing her to speak when she was ready. They didn't have to speak for each to know that they were glad to be reunited, after having been separated for nearly six years-they were twins after all-but there _was_ something she had to say.

"Sephiroth…" she said softly, "Let's take this planet as ours. Crush all opposition, and create a new future, on a new world…like Mother did."

He stood, pulling her up with him. "There's nothing that I desire more," he said.

"Together…" she murmured, her hands pressed against his strong back, as if she were worried that he wasn't real-or that he was going to vanish.

"Of course; you are the only one graced with the privilege to accompany me through space after this planet has met its end," he replied.

She smiled slightly, but it was humorless; that was Sephiroth as she most remembered him, all traces of concern gone from his voice, speaking as though they were celestial, godly beings put on this planet to do with it as they pleased. Even if he spoke of her as a tag-along almost, she knew him well enough to know that was simply how he phrased things, and that of course she would be by his side throughout whatever he decided to do.

She pulled back then, gazing into his strikingly green eyes-they reminded her so much, painfully, of Yazoo, and yet not at the same time. Of course, that would be obvious though; the three had been pieces of her twin. Her own eyes were dark and lost, and if not for him, she would never have moved from that spot. There was also something else present in her eyes; utter devotion and trust. Yes, she would follow him down whatever path, to whatever extent, even to the destruction of this planet and beyond. He was her brother, her twin, the other half of her being, and nothing would ever remove her from his side ever again.


	7. The Heart of Everything

**A/N:** Alright, here we have the last chapter of Catalyst 5. Thank you to everyone who's stuck with me so far on this wild, crazy ride, and I hope everyone will read the next one too =) And a special word to Yazoo IS Superior; I happened to skim your profile earlier, and saw that you highly recommend my Catalyst series. I am so honored =D Thank you, thank you –Bows- Oh, and lyrics mentioned in this chapter do not belong to me. They are from "Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums", by A Perfect Circle.

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**Chapter Seven – "The Heart of Everything"**

The sky was falling-well, not literally, not yet at least. The blackness of the clouds had taken on a different look, a different feel, forming vicious funnels here and there that ravaged the land and destroyed buildings. People ran in panic this way and that through Edge, but soon it wouldn't matter where they ran, or where they found to hide; this whole planet would be damaged irreversibly in the near future, the powers of the Lifestream harnessed.

She kept Heaven and Hell sheathed-she didn't need them, she could do all the damage she intended to with her bare hands. She had no fear of losing, of defeat; failing was simply not an option for her, not that they were reunited. Especially since she was so numb, empty of emotions. No, she didn't need her blades, not as she leapt into a snap kick that caught the blonde in the chest and sent him crashing back into the side of the building, sliding down to the ground. She strode over to him, crouching on top of him and wrapping one hand in the front of his shirt. She drew one fist back, and punched him hard. Before, she would have enjoyed the blow, but now she felt nothing.

"It's all over now, Cloud, it's as simple as that," she said flatly, punching him again.

He was still dazed from her previous kick, hadn't quite recovered enough to fight back yet, but he did try to shove her away. She resisted though, yanking him forward and slamming his head back against the wall to stop his attempts.

"It's just you now. You can join Tifa soon," she continued.

"Tifa?" he repeated, and she saw the anger blazing through his blue eyes, "What have you done to her?"

"Just snapped her neck is all," Sophronica replied, her head listing slightly to the side, and her eyes glazing over for a moment as she seemed to be recalling her fight with the brunette, "Don't worry," she added, as if she really cared, "It was quick; she didn't suffer." She decided not to mention the others though, and besides, it would have required too much of her precious time; she still had to see a dear old friend before this all ended.

He glared at her, not speaking, but raising his hands to either strike her or push her off.

She abruptly snapped back to reality though, punching him hard in the face again, and again. "Don't fret over Marlene and the children; they're sleeping, I made sure of it. They won't suffer when the end comes," she said, sounding dazed. She meant it though; she'd cast a spell on the children, so they'd never know what was to come.

"Oh well," she sighed, standing and dragging him to his feet as well. She propped him up against the wall, straightening his shirt and brushing rubble off of him, "There you go," she fussed, stepping back, "Hope I didn't fuck you up too badly; he wants to have a few words with you." That was a great understatement of course; Sephiroth wanted much more than a few words with Cloud.

"See you in another lifetime," she concluded, patting the dazed blonde's spiky hair before turning.

Everything about what she'd just done and said-not just her interactions with Cloud, but everything since reuniting with her twin-pointed to one obvious thing; she had completely lost her mind. Her grasp on reality was slipping, she was becoming more and more of an empty shell the longer she went on. She hadn't let their deaths be in vain though; she had seen to it that Nero was gone forever. Even if it had actually been done by Sephiroth's hand.

The center of Edge, where the Meteor Monument had once stood, was now a crater from when it had been destroyed years back during their fevered search for Jenova, and was also now completely filled with water from the never ending rain. Of course, it had let up for the moment, but given their luck already, who knew how long it would last. At any rate, it was towards this pool of water that she made her way, completely oblivious to the people running about, even though they often bumped into her; these people didn't matter anymore, simply enough. However, a voice stopped her before she could reach it, and she turned at the sound of her name being called. For a moment, it almost seemed like the panicking crowd parted, granting her a clear alley of sight to the redhead, where he stood some yards away.

"No loyal sidekick today?" she inquired, noticing that he was alone.

"You're my problem, that's all," Reno replied, starting towards her slowly, cautiously.

"That's sweet," she said, though there was nothing sweet about what he said, and so he frowned slightly in confusion.

"What's happened to you?" he asked, shaking his head slowly.

"I've lost everything," she replied with a shrug, "I've even lost you, though you're not gone yet."

He stopped a short distance away from her, and for a moment, she saw a look of regret pass through his blue eyes. "You know what's going to happen," he said.

"I do," she responded, looking down to the ground; it wasn't going to be what he planned on though. "Come on," she said, looking up again and striding towards him, "Let's properly say goodbye."

She didn't give him a chance for anymore conversation, because as soon as she had reached him, she threw a swift punch. He dodged, ducking under her arm and lashing out with a kick that caught her across the back, causing her to stumble slightly. Whirling around to face him again, she aimed a kick to his knee, but he darted just barely out of the way, throwing a punch. She caught his fist, twisting his arm around and pulling her to him. For a second, she nuzzled the side of his neck, but then she shoved him forward, kicking him in the back and sending him sprawling to the ground.

"There's a reason you're just a Turk, and I was a First Class SOLDIER," she commented as he quickly got to his feet, clearly pointing out that his battle abilities were far inferior to hers.

The redhead didn't grace her with a reply, instead charging at her. She spread her arms, allowing him to tackle her, but she'd braced herself for the hit, and suddenly pivoted on one foot, using the momentum against him. Gripping the back of his suit jacket, she flung him through the air. He landed with a splash in the pool formed where the Meteor Monument had been, and she strode after him even as he surfaced, spluttering slightly.

She punched him when he tried to climb out of the pool, wading into the cold water with him. For a second, they just gazed at each other, as if trying to figure the other out, or predict their next move, and she stretched out a hand to brush the side of his face, fingers tracing over one tattoo before running through his now wet hair.

"I'll miss you," she said sincerely, though there was a far away expression in her eyes, and he knew that she wasn't all there.

She tangled her fingers in his hair, yanking his head back hard to force him under the water. Even as he thrashed and struggled against her, she shifted her grip to wrap both hands around his neck, though she was careful not to hurt him-which made the whole thing bizarre; she was drowning him, and yet she made sure she wasn't crushing his throat. Then again…nothing seemed to make much sense to her anymore.

He was kicking her, clawing at her arms, but the blows didn't seem to affect her. They seemed to be dealt to some one else, some one far way who couldn't register the pain, who was numb to everything. She closed her eyes as she forced him further under the water, unable to watch the death of yet another one she'd loved once upon a time. She began to softly utter the words to some long ago song, the same ones she'd uttered to her baby brother that night he couldn't sleep.

"_Don't fret precious I'm here…step away from the window_," her voice was so soft, almost inaudible, and laced with pain, as if she really didn't want to be doing this, as if she wanted to let go and embrace him instead, "_Go back to sleep_…"

And yet she didn't stop.

"_Safe from pain and truth and choice and other poison devils_," silent tears began to make tracks down her cheeks again as she tried to ignore his struggling, and the fact that he was weakening, "_See, they don't give a fuck about you, like I do_…"

Her tears fell to the pool below, though she wasn't entirely sure why she was crying; she'd already lost that which was most important to her, what did a few more lives matter?

"_I'll be the one to protect you from your enemies and all your demons_," she seemed to be clinging desperately to those words, though her voice was shaking, as if they were some glorious prayer that would make everything go away.

His struggling had all but ceased now, and she took in a few shuddering deep breaths, forcing herself to open her eyes again.

"_I'll be the one to protect you from a will to survive and a voice of reason_."

He looked so serene, she thought with a jolt, as she took her hands away from his neck, almost like he was sleeping. Yes; that's it, he was just sleeping, and nothing more. A broken mind was a wondrous thing-you could convince it of almost anything if it truly wanted to believe. And, as she slid her arms under him and lifted him from the pool, _she wanted to believe that_.

"_I'll be the one to protect you from your enemies and your choices_," she whispered, carrying him out of the pool, and sat down on the ground just beside it, leaning her back against the side of the crater as she held him to her.

"_They're one in the same, I must isolate you_…" she ran her fingers through his hair, frowning at the green orbs that were beginning already to dance along his pale skin, wrapping her arm tighter around him; the Lifestream always stole everything from her.

"_Isolate and save you from yourself_…" she finished, resting her chin lightly on the top of his head as she clung to his still form.

She could hear, faintly, over the sounds of people running and screaming still, the sounds of a fight, and knew it had to be her brother and Cloud.

"Everything's alright," she murmured in a hollow tone, watching with blank eyes as Reno began to dissolve into the swirling green lights, to join with the Lifestream, and after a few moments, she was left staring at the spot where he had been.

Sophronica sighed, forcing herself to her feet, and took a few steps forward. She stopped though, standing there as if she'd become lost, and looked around, blinking. For a moment, she appeared very much like a small child; lost, scared, and confused. But then she looked to the black sky, which was spewing even more twisters, and smiled faintly, though it was hard to discern what emotion, if any, lay behind the gesture. This world would be theirs soon, and soon she wouldn't have to deal with anything anymore, not for a long time.

She turned towards his presence as he descended from the sky, tilting her head slightly to the side as she swayed, seeming to be almost about to tip over for a moment.

"It is time; there is no one left to oppose us on this planet," Sephiroth said, holding out a hand to her.

Her gaze drifted to his wing as he spoke, and she closed her eyes for a moment, her own wing branching out from her back. Opening her eyes again, she took his hand.

Everything belonged to them now; the end of this planet was swiftly approaching. No one was going to stop them, and if anyone so much as dared to try, she'd make sure they regretted it-nothing was going to interfere with her brother's plans again, nothing. It was time to use this world as their mother had, and to travel the cosmos to a new beginning.

**End**

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**A/N:** No…this is NOT the end of Catalyst; I promised a happy ending to it all, and there will be, which is why you'll have to join Sophy again for the sixth and final Catalyst. I'm sure you're wondering HOW it will end happily, but you'll just have to find out =) I've already started work on the sixth, and I should have the first chapter up sometime tomorrow.


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